News archive

Researchers publish findings on medicinal cannabis

How often and to whom do doctors prescribe medicinal cannabis? Arno Hazekamp, a pharmaceutical researcher from Leiden University, and Rob Heerdink, a pharmaco-epidemiologist from Utrecht University, investigated this. ‘The prevalence has been stable for ten years, so the patients seem to be satisfied.’

Difficult operation; 850 MHz NMR spectrometer delevered to Leiden NMR Center

People worked very hard and all day to hoist the 4,000-kilo magnet of the spectrometer of the truck and maneuver it through the corridors of the Leiden Faculty of Science. And not without dangers because the floors of the building are not designed for this much weight. Thanks to the necessary precautions the operation succeeded under the watchful eye of excited scientists.

Ascension day; faculty closed

Because of Ascension day the Gorlaeus laboratories, Huygens building, Oort building, Snellius building and Sylvius building are closed on 9 and 10 May.

Livestock depredation by lions (Panthera leo) in Waza National Park, Cameroon

A recent publication in Oryx, The International Journal of Conservation by Tumenta et al., 2013 (Leiden University) on human-lion conflict over livestock depredation in Waza National Park, Cameroon has demonstrated that the human-lion conflict remains an important factor in the depletion of lion populations.

Algant mathematics programme brings non-Western talent to Leiden

The Algant European PhD programme is an important stimulus for international collaboration between mathematicians. Most of the participants have a Leiden thesis supervisor. Vietnamese participant Dung is the first to complete his dissertation. He is returning to Vietnam with a mission.

Astronomers vs. Kids featuring Nobel Prize Winner, Prof. Brian Schmidt

EU-Universe Awareness, an astronomy education programme for children from Leiden Observatory, has produced an exciting new educational resource called Astronomers vs. Kids. This is a brand new series of short educational videos created to help educators to introduce the hottest topics in astronomy to the classroom, answer most fundamental questions about the Universe and incite a passion for astronomy in curious young students.

Ewine van Dishoeck gives Halley Lecture at Oxford

The lecture will take place on Wednesday, 29 May 2013. The title is ‘Building stars, planets and the ingredients for life between the stars'. The Halley Lecture in the University of Oxford was founded by the late Henry Wilde, on the return of Halley’s comet in 1910. The lecture is given annually on a subject connected with astronomy or terrestrial magnetism.

Het schilderij ‘De ovale zaal van Teylers Museum

Leiden chemists bring cleaner fuel a step closer

In 1789 at Teyler’s Museum in Haarlem scientists managed for the first time to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. Leiden Professor of Surface Chemistry Marc Koper is now the first scientist to unravel the precise workings of ‘electrolysis’. This brings us a step closer to the hydrogen car.

EU Universe Awareness from Leiden Observatory Takes ‘Universe in a Box’ to the World

EU Universe Awareness, an astronomy educational project based at Leiden Observatory, has created an exciting new resource called Universe in a Box. This low-tech educational kit has been designed to explain the difficult and sometimes abstract concepts of astronomy to young children (4 to 10 years) by providing practical, fun activities as well as the materials and models required to do them.

Stans Prize 2012 for students Kirstine Schiebel and Pietro Galgani

The ‘Stans Prize 2012' (for the best thesis, report or article produced by a CML student) has been awarded to two students: Kirstine Schiebel for her research on Yellow Nutsedge ( Cyperus esculentus ) in the Netherlands: The Effects of Changing Policies on Distribution and Abundance and Pietro Galgani for his reseach on Compost, biogas and biochar in Northern Ghana - Climate impact and economic feasibility in the context of voluntary carbon markets.